Playwright Marcus Gardley’s award-winning play about 19th century free Black wealthy women, living in New Orleans is being adapted for the big screen.
The House That Will Not Stand follows the lives of free Black Creole women in 1813 New Orleans, who became wealthy through plaçage, or the practice of common-law marriages between white men and women of color in what was then a French colony. However, after Louisiana was sold to the U.S. in 1803, Black women found themselves increasingly marginalized as their legal rights were diminished.
MWM Studios will be producing the movie version,
Variety reports.
“I am so excited to be working with Diane and the MWM team to transform The House That Will Not Stand into a film,” said Gardley. “I can’t wait to re-visit these characters and share more of their lives and world. Even when I conceived the play, I always saw the film version.”
The play, which was inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s
The House of Bernarda Alba, won Gardley the 2015 Glickman Award and was a finalist for the 2015 Kennedy Prize.
We can’t wait!
